Loop regulating mechanism for straight knitting machines



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' LOOP. REGULATING MECHANISM FOR 1 STRAIGHT KNITTINGLMACHINES Filed F sh 12, 1948 2 shets-sneat 1 FIGZL 2 1 WITNESSES I E gig Emmy;

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May 17,1949. J. BERGER ETAL LOOP REGULATING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KN IT'IING WCHINES 2 Sheets -She et 2 Filed Feb. "12, 1948 INVENTORS.

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- ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Patented May 17, 1949 LOOP REGULATING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINES Emil J. Berger and Howard K. West, Lansdale,

Pa., assignors to Dexdale Hosiery Mills, Lansdale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 12, 1948, Serial No. 7,806

4 Claims.

production of fiat fashioned stocking blanks and the like.

The chief aim of our invention is to enable finer adjustments to be made in mechanisms of the kind referred to so that the size of the loops can be regulated with greater accuracy for the production of fabrics which will be uniform as to length and identical in appearance as regards the regularity of the meshes.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a view showing in front elevation part of a straight knitting machine conveniently embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the organization taken as indicated by the angled arrows 11-11 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken as indicated by the angled arrows III-III in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken as indicated by the angled arrows IVIV in Fig. 2.

The knitting machine chosen for convenience of exemplifying our invention is generally of the construction disclosed in U. S. Patent 1,982,991 granted to Kenneth Howie and Charles C. Krie'ble on December 4, 1934, in that it has a bar with a series of needles 2, and sinked elements such as shown at 3 in Fig. 2 to cooperate with the needles in formation of the fabric loops in a well known manner. The needle bar is supported by a yoked arm 4 pivotally connected at 5 to the ends of horizontal lift arms 6 on a longitudinally-extending rock shaft 1. Through a roller arm (not shown) actuated by a rotary cam (not shown) on the cam shaft 8 of the machine, the rock shaft 1 is oscillated to impart up and down movements to the needle bar l as required in stitch formation. In and out movements are at the .same time induced in the needle bar by oscillation of the yoke bracket 4 about the pivots 5. .As shown the bracket 4 is provided with a pendant extremity 4a which, through a releasable link bar 9, is connected to the press arm II) which is free on shaft 1 and has a roller thereon running on the periphery of the rotary press cam |2 on the cam shaft 8. Afiixed to the usual loop regulating shaft I3 is an arm |4 with a roller I5 adapted to be contacted by the stitch cam l6 .on the cam shaft 8. As in the patent hereinbefore 2 referred to, the arm II], at its swinging end, has a lug projection Illa which is bored and tapped to receive individually-adjustable stop abutments in the form of screws IT and I8. Arranged to coact with the stop screws H and I8 is a winglike arm l9 which is pinned to the loop regulating shaft I3 and Whereon is pivoted at 2|, 9. shiftable finger 22. Normally this finger 22 is interposed beneath the stop screw l8 as illustrated and when so placed, prevents the stop screw I! from contacting the element i9. As ordinarily, the head Ha of screw I7 is provided with circumferential graduations, see Fig. 1, to indicate the different positions to which it may be adjusted. shiftable in a longitudinal groove 23 in the fulcrum boss of element I9 is a slide 25 having teeth at one end in mesh with a gear sector 22a on the finger 22, and slide being secured at its opposite end to a collar 26 which is keyed against rotation but shiftable along the loop regulating shaft l3 in opposition to a spring 21 in compression between it and a fixed frame member 28. When the collar 26 is so shifted, the finger 22 is swung from beneath the stop screw |8 through co-action of the teeth on bar 25 with the sector teeth 22a to allow the stop screw to contact the element IQ for change in stitch length in the known manner. Attached at one end to the collar 26 is a metallic tape 29 which passes about a grooved guide roll 30 and has its opposite end secured to the tail of a finger 3| freely fulcrumed on a fixed stud 32. As shown, the end of the finger 3| lies in the path of a series of cam rises 3'3-31 circumferentially of the usual timing drum 4| of the machine. Free in the interval between the spaced boss portions Ma and Nb of the roller arm I4 on shaft l3, see Fig. 1, is an upwardly reaching lever 42 which has a pendant lug projection 420. with a stud 43 therein to cooperate with a cam element 45 pivoted at 4! to a cross web 540 whereby the two boss portions of said roller arm are integrally united. Through a drop link 38, the cam element 45 is connected to the tail of a finger 49, see Fig. 2, which is freely fulcrumed on the stud 32 alongside the finger 3|, with its end in the path of a cam rise 50 on the timing drum 4|. At its upper end, the lever 42 carries a pin 52 which is engaged by the devised lower end of a swing lever 53 freely suspended from another longitudinal shaft 55 of the machine. The lever 53 has a point projection 53a. arranged to be acted upon by circumferentiallyspaced lateral segmental cam projections 56, 51 and 58 of a cam disk 59 on a separate horizontal cam shaft 50 of the machine by which the stitch 3 length is changed during splicing of the stocking heels, insteps and toes. The spring indicated at 6| is influential upon the arm [4 to maintain the roller l5 of the latter yieldingly engaged with the cam l6 and the other parts all positioned as shown in Fig. 2.

The elements far described have their counterparts in the Howie patent, supra, identical and function as and for the purposes set forth therein. In accordance with our invention how ever, the portion 52a of pin 52 engage d fin the, lever 42 is eccentric to the portion thereof which is engaged in the clevis of lever 53, see Fig. 4. Ac-

cordingly, by rotative adjustment of the pin 52' toe portions of the stockings under control of the disk 59, such adjustments being independent of and non-influential 'upon the adjustments of the screw IL In order to? visually indicate different positions to which the pin 52 may be adjusted; and'to enable: quick, and accurate resettings, We have provideda pointer 62 for coordination witha graduated scale sector 63 keyed to'B'Z'dIthe pointer being secured by dowel pins 64, seeFig. Ltd the-upper end of the lever 42 and the sector keyed totlie eccentric portion 52a of said -p'in andheld in'place by the nut at 5 I.

Having thus descrihed'our invention, we claim: 1'. 'Loop regulating mechanism for straight knitting machines havingia loop'regulating shaft withanaffi'xed arm arrangedto be actuated by a rotary camon the cam shaftof the 'machine, a'se'cond arm on the loop regulating shaft contactedby an abutment on" a press arm arranged to' be actuated' by'a press cam'on the cam shaft, and a lever'on the press cam having a pivotal connection at its outer end-with the corresponding end of a"freelylfu lcrumed swing lever arranged to :be actuated bypoaction laterally with circumferentially spacdprqjectionsof a rotary cain' on a separate cam shaft; wherein the pivotal 4 connection aforesaid comprises a. pin which is rotatively adjustable in the end of one of the levers and which has an eccentric portion engaged in the end of the other lever.

2. The invention according to claim 1, in which there is a graduated scale sector on the lever that carries th pin, and irr whicl' a coordinating adjustment indicating pointer is secured to the pin.

3. Loop regulating mechanism for straight knitting machines having a loop regulating shaft with an afljl iged arm arranged to be actuated by a rotary cain on the cam shaft of the machine, a second armdon the loop regulating shaft contacted by'a screw-:adjustable in a press arm arranged to be actuated by a press cam on the cam shaft, andla leyer on the press cam having a pivotal connection at its outer end with the corresponding end of a freely fulcrumed swing lever arranged to be actuatedlby coaction laterally with circumferentiallv spaced projections ofv a rotary cam on asenarate camshaft; whereinthe pivot: a1 connection aforesaid comprisesa pin, which isgrotatively adjustable, in .the, end: of i one v ojthe. levers and which has an eccentric portion. ep i ca ed iinl hel endtcflthe th l ver he, invention accqrdina aimfir n which here. is a gradua ed secton cal h e r that carr es the pin. a dlmlwhiqha ccqtd nat ng ius m nt indicating pa n st ec ed o. he p n:

J2 BER ER Howann WE El lE liii QtrQ l n The following references are o frecord in the file of -this pateht:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

